Japanese Wedding, San Francisco, CA, 1987
Alice and Masato wear kimonos for the nuptial rite. Around her wig is a "tsuno kakushi," a horn hider, the white band covering her "horns of jealousy." They stand before an altar with the essentials for a Shinto ceremony -- teapots holding sake and the evergreen branches of the sacred sakaki tree. A purification rite will be performed, when a priest waves "oho-nusa," two wands with strips of paper, over the couple.
Katrina Thomas's notes: The elaborate and expensive wedding customs of historical Japan are rarely kept, even in the homeland. However I photograph one wedding for which traditions are retained because the bride, who is mixed Chinese and Japanese, wishes to honor the heritage of her husband, he, being the minister of the Konko Kyo church, in which they are married. In addition to their wearing kimonos, and she a wig and traditional headdress, they perform the essential ceremony of san san kudo, each drinking from three cups of sake three times, which is usually eliminated today by those married in America.
Thomas, Katrina (photographer)
1987
1 photograph : black-and-white
reformatted digital
North and Central America--United States--California--San Francisco--San Francisco
BMC-M59
Photographer's categories: Prenuptial rite , Purification , Bride , Bridegroom , Traditional apparel , Altar
BMC-M59_34-01